"Well, I'm not really," she explained to the waiting-room audience. "I just played one on TV."

The part Leeves was referring to, of course, was the two-episode guest stint she did last season on "Seinfeld," in which she played a virginal professional closet organizer pursued by Jerry Seinfeld. In the story's end, though, it's not Jerry, but John F. Kennedy Jr. who deflowers the wide-eyed English maiden.

Recalling the story, Leeves laughs. "To be playing a virgin at my age . . ."

Lucky for Leeves, her current character, "Frasier's" semi-psychic housekeeper, Daphne Moon, is a bit more worldly. As is the actress herself.

Leeves, a dancer-turned-actress from south England's East Grinstead, headed for Hollywood with a suitcase and $1,000 to pursue her acting career. "It was very bizarre and very scary," she says. "I didn't even have a green card, or working permit."

Things started happening in 1986, when she landed a lead in the series "Throb," which revolved around the record business. The show gave Leeves a chance to further hone the comic skills she developed while working in her homeland with comedic legend Benny Hill.

But nothing compares to the successful splash she's made as the housekeeper-caregiver Dr. Frasier Crane hires to watch over his father, Martin (John Mahoney). Leeves says she has NBC boss Warren Littlefield to thank for the role.

During an early discussion about the show's characters, Leeves discovered, Littlefield made a suggestion that the housekeeper be English, adding "and it could be Jane Leeves."

"Frasier's" producers hadn't even heard of the actress; Littlefield, Leeves says, had been familiar with her work from several NBC pilots.

Leeves' fans can look for her in theaters this holiday season. Leeves appears in the movie remake of "Miracle on 34th Street," in which she plays an evil department-store executive.

A bad girl? Afraid so. After all, says Leeves, "I've got to grab the opportunities as they arrive."